Page 82 of The Dark Duke's Virgin

The lies that he spun, as if she might somehow have forgotten. Caroline remembered the way her father beat her mother. She remembered the bruises left on her the next day. She remembered the way her mother promised to protect her against him, how she begged Caroline to behave so that his wrath would not find her instead.

It was all coming back to Caroline now. In the past, when her father would behave this way, Caroline would do as her mother asked and behave as a means to placate him. She would agree and apologize and promise to behave. She would do whatever she needed so that he would not grow angry. And indeed, from the way he was acting, she knew that was what he expected. Only…

That was two years ago. So much had changed since then. And while Caroline did not think that she would be saved, knowing that she was now at this man’s mercy, she simply could not bring herself to play his game as he wanted it.

A sudden surge of bravery swept through Caroline, and she forced herself to stand up straight, fixing him with a look of disgust that he saw and snarled at.

“No,” she sneered, ignoring the way her body shook. “You killed my mother, and nothing you say will change that.”

His beady eyes flashed with anger. “So, that is the way it is going to be?”

“It is the way that it is. You wish for a happy reunion? How about you leave and find me again in two more years? Perhaps then I will have the stomach to deal with you.”

His thin lips curled into a sneer. “So, some things have changed then.”

“More than you know.”

Suddenly, he leapt at her. She gasped and recoiled, expecting to feel his hand across her face, but it slammed into the wall beside her head as he leaned over her, teeth bared. “You have no idea what you speak of! You never did! The lack of gratitude that you have shown me… I would be within my rights to kill you.”

“I wish you would!” she snarled back somehow. “Save me having to live with you.”

He chuckled coldly and pushed himself back. “Your mother was the same. For all I did for her, not once did she thank me. And she wondered why I drank! Ha!” He turned about and stalked across the room. “My marriage to her was supposed to cover the debts I’d incurred, but it barely put a dent in it! I ask you, whatgood is a marriage if all I get out of it is a no-good, spoilt brat of a daughter who doesn’t understand herrole!”

“Then why even look for me?” Caroline asked, daring to take a step forward. Her eyes glanced across the room, toward the door… unlocked. “Why not leave me be!”

“Perhaps I meant to?” He wandered across the room, toward the window which he gazed out of; it was early in the morning, and the light from the sun was soft and cool. “Perhaps I was glad that you left? More trouble than you are worth, truth be told. Like most women, I can’t help but think we would be better off without you.”

“Then why?” She stepped deeper into the room, eyes flicking to her father’s back and then to the closed door. “Why not leave me?”

“I saw you at the Westchester Ball, you know. And I know you saw me,” he chuckled, gaze still fixed firmly out the window. “The fact that you didn’t flee as soon as you recognized me… why, I cannot help but wonder if you wanted to be found.”

She ignored that, her heart racing as she stepped closer and closer to the door. What she would do when she ran through it, she had no idea, but she had to try something!

“Before you left me as you did, you might be surprised to hear that I had a marriage arranged for you—yes, yes, I had managed to find someone willing to burden themselves with you. Someone who, mind you, would have covered my debts infull once the marriage was confirmed. But you robbed me of that. Oh, how you did…” He shook his head to himself, and she could imagine the sneer on his face.

Still, Caroline did not say anything. Another step toward the door, well over halfway across the room now. A few more steps taken, and she would run for it.

“As luck has it, he is still interested. Ha! Do you believe that? I wrote to him just a few days ago, and the same deal applies as we had before. Come tomorrow, you and I are taking a little trip north to Scotland where you will meet your future husband, and finally, you will begin to be of real use to me. Better late than never.”

Caroline froze when she heard the words. So close to running… the shock of the announcement struck her in a way that even she had not expected. Violence, she had prepared for. Terror, of course. But a marriage? To be carted away and sold like cattle? No. There was no way she could allow such a thing.

“You are nervous,” he said softly, almost sounding regretful. “Scared, perhaps. But I must warn you, this time you will do as I ask, Caroline. His Grace is not coming to save you. Nobody is. So, you best get used to it.”

She snarled at the back of her father, wanting nothing more than to shout at him and tell him that she would rather die than do his bidding. But the way to the door was open, and it was now or never?—

“Go on then,” he said without turning around. “Run for it. While you have the chance.” She gasped, and he turned around and smiled wickedly. Triumphantly. “If you think you will make it.”

Caroline didn’t hesitate. A final rueful glare, and she sprinted for the door as fast as she could go. Reaching for the handle, she took hold, turned it, and?—

“Argh!” she cried out when her father grabbed her by the back of the head, a fistful of hair, and wrenched her back into the room.

“You are a fool girl!” he snarled as he propelled her across the room. She tripped and stumbled, falling onto the bed. He stormed toward her, grabbing her by the throat and pushing her down onto the bed. There, he climbed on top, bearing down on her, spittle flying from his mouth as he seethed, his hideous face inches from her own. “Do you not realize that you belong to me! There is nothing you can do that I cannot stop!”

“I hate you!” she cried out, writhing under him, trying to force him back, but he was too strong.

“Hate me all you want,” he snarled. “I do not care. Tonight, we leave for Scotland, and a few days following that, you will no longer be my problem!”

“I will not marry him! You can’t make me!”

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